Column | Why RFNBO is becoming hydrogen’s global passport

The renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) framework is often viewed as a technical compliance regime: a set of rules designed to determine whether hydrogen and other clean fuels can be classified as renewable under EU legislation. But what if RFNBO is becoming something much bigger?

While RFNBO is rooted in European policy, its significance is inherently global. Under the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), ambitious targets for renewable fuels in transport and industry are creating significant demand for renewable hydrogen and its derivatives. Yet Europe is unlikely to produce enough cost-effective renewable hydrogen domestically to meet those ambitions.

Although RED III is intended to stimulate a European hydrogen economy, it also makes RFNBO much more than a European certification framework. As Europe increasingly looks beyond its borders for supply, RFNBO becomes a mechanism for international certification, finance and trade.